Oscar and the Princess

This evening I’ll light a fire in the fireplace and curl up on the couch with a large bowl of buttered popcorn. Then I’ll settle back and watch the Academy Awards event from the red carpet extravaganza until the very end when Ellen DeGeneres says good night.

Yes, I’m a fan. The type of movies I watch include: old black and white, romance, comedy, drama, adventure, science fiction, foreign, animated, suspense, musicals, and even an occasional western. I love them all.

But, wanting to experience the moment when the winner is announced for best picture is not the only thing that entices me to watch this lengthy production.

What is it that not only lures me, but countless other women to watch? The gowns. Those beautiful, intricate, very expensive, size 0 gowns that we’ll never be able to afford or fit into.

I think it goes back to playing dress-up as a little girl and dreaming of one day becoming a princess. Watching the stars glide down the red carpet in flowing, gorgeous fabrics is kind of like playing dress-up as an adult.

The Academy will award actors and other people who have made great contributions in the film industry. It’s a night to honor creative people and hard work. The winners will take the statue home and place it on their mantle to remind them of that one glorious moment. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We all need affirmation in our lives. It keeps us motivated to keep going when life isn’t moving along as smooth as we’d like it to.

Many of the movie stars today have become idols and almost royalty in the eyes of their fans. The key is to keep perspective. Some are able to and some are not. Fame can be gone overnight. It can also become negative and destroy. We only need to look at Anna Nicole’s death and Britney Spears’ latest antics to see how their lives spiraled downward and the kind of attention they’ve received.

Several years ago I joked about being a princess and have since then been teased about it. One friend even gave me a plague that reads, “I Am a Princess and Proud of It.” But, I believe there’s a difference in “acting” like a princess with the expectation that people cater to your whims…and feeling like a princess.

I am a princess because God is my Father. I belong to the King of Kings and the Prince of Peace. My inheritance is eternal life and I didn’t have to earn it. And nothing...or nobody...can ever take that away from me.

I’ll take that over a gold statue any day.
Dawn